AUTO LETTERS

Doc fee negotiable, but the amount isn't

March 25, 2007|By Jim Mateja, Tribune auto reporter

Q. The Doc fee (Business, March 6) is a scam. Dealers can't sell a vehicle without doing the paperwork any more than Jewel can sell food without a cash register. This is part of the cost of doing business. Furthermore, the Illinois attorney general provides that the fee is negotiable.

Though every dealer says the fee is required by the state, it isn't; the fee is permitted.

M.H., La Grange Park

A. Jerry Cizek, president of the Chicago Automobile Trade Association, said dealers have the option to charge or not charge the fee, but the amount isn't negotiable if dealers charge it. If you are about to walk away from a sale based on the fee, a dealer could strike a deal in which you pay the fee and he increases the value of the trade-in by the same amount or you pay the fee and he subtracts the same amount from the price he had quoted you on the new car. But that's between you and the dealer.

Q. A salesman told me Honda will have a hydrogen-powered car for sale to the public in 2009. Sounds like a pipe dream. I'd be happy if Honda just offered a hybrid that got the mileage of the Toyota Camry hybrid at 35 m.p.g. city and highway. The hybrid Accord offers substantially less.

D.T., Elwood

A. The hybrid Camry is rated at 40 m.p.g. city/38 highway, the Accord at 28 m.p.g. city/35 highway. But you have an alternative: the Honda Civic hybrid rated at 49/51. The hydrogen Honda will be the next generation of the FCX available for lease, not sale, in 2008. Honda isn't saying where it will be leased or in what quantity. It now leases two hydrogen hybrid FCX cars to regular folks in California, which, unlike Elwood, has a few refueling stations. It has other FCX hybrids undergoing commercial testing.

Honda may offer an in-home refueling system for the car for 2008 to make it more feasible for the public, but isn't saying for now.

Q. I enjoyed your review of the new Saturn Outlook (Transportation, March 11) but noted one error. I don't have turn-by-turn as part of my OnStar service as you say I should. GMC Acadia buyers have it, but for some reason not Outlook buyers.

B.E., Haslett, Mich.

A. Wrong.

Turn-by-turn navigation is provided to Outlook buyers who upgrade OnStar service to include directions and connections for $100 a year.

Q. Why don't those new GM Outlook, Acadia and Enclave crossovers offer a backup camera? The Honda Odyssey, Toyota Sienna and Chrysler Pacifica all offer it. Is it in the works?

S.T., Plainfield

A. Outlook and Acadia don't offer a camera that uses the navi screen to show what's behind you when backing up. But they offer rear park assist, which beeps if something is behind when backing up. The Buick Enclave, which goes on sale in June, will offer the camera. GM said it's a price issue to keep stickers down on the Saturn and GMC, but don't be surprised if it becomes a new option as consumers let the automakers know they want it.

Q. You seem to make an extra effort to bash Ford Motor Co. in your recent statement that Ford should get out of the business of making movies. I think you are bashing Ford just to extort some kind of payoff or bribe.

R.V.B., Waukesha, Wis.

A. We said Ford cars showed up in 40 percent of the No. 1 movies in 2006, the most product placements of any company for the second year in a row. Since Ford lost $12.7 billion last year, we noted that "Maybe Ford could sell more cars if they weren't busy making movies." Don't see that as an extortion attempt.

Q. Have you seen this product? Interesting, though the video doesn't give an actual percentage of fuel-economy improvement. Your thoughts?

F.B., Westchester

A. The video was of a product that, if we understood the sales pitch, adds water to stretch a gallon of gas. When last we looked, adding water to gas guarantees only a high repair bill.